Word Confusion: Draught versus Drought

Posted October 20, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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It was “that had been the remains of a diluted drought imbibed twelve hours ago” that got me interested in understanding this particular word confusion: draught vs drought.

Now, I’m not sure how one dilutes a drought, unless it’s a metaphor for rain.

But I can understand that you might want to dilute a beverage, you know, a draught.

Word Confusions…

…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.

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Draught	Drought
Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com
Draught Beer Mclau19 is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.	On the Parched Desert Floor, Mojave desert, near Kelso, California, by Murray Foubister is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Drought conditions in the Mojave desert.
Part of Grammar:
British version of the American draft Adjective ¹, ²; Noun ¹, ²; Verb ², intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun and third person present verb: draughts Past tense or past participle: draughted, drafted [American] Gerund or present participle: draughting, drafting [American] Pronunciation for both is draft	Noun Plural: droughts
Adjective: [Attrib.] Denoting beer or other drink that is kept in and served from a barrel or tank rather than from a bottle or can Denoting an animal used for pulling heavy loads [Obsolete] A privy or outhouse Noun: A preliminary version of a piece of writing ² A plan, sketch, or rough drawing [Computing; in full draft mode] A mode of operation of a printer in which text is produced rapidly but with relatively low definition [US; the draft] Compulsory recruitment for military service ² [North American] A procedure whereby new or existing sports players are made available for selection or re-selection by the teams in a league, usually with the earlier choices being given to the weaker teams [Rare] A group or individual selected from a larger group for a special duty, e.g., for military service [British] A current of cool air in a room or other confined space ¹, ² [British] The action or act of pulling something along, especially a vehicle or farm implement ¹, ² A written order to pay a specified sum ² A check [British] A single act of drinking or inhaling ¹, ² The amount swallowed or inhaled in a single act of drinking or inhaling [British] The depth of water needed to float a ship ¹, ² [British] The drawing in of a fishing net ² The fish taken at one drawing A catch [Games] Checkers Verb, intransitive: [Motorsports; also slipstream] To benefit from reduced wind resistance by driving very closely behind another vehicle Verb, transitive: To prepare a preliminary version of a document Select (a person or group of people) and bring them somewhere for a certain purpose [US] Conscript (someone) for military service [North American] Select (a player) for a sports team through the draft Pull or draw	A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water A prolonged absence of a specified thing [Archaic or dialect] Thirst
Examples:
Adjective: I prefer drinking draft beer. Some breeds preferred as draft oxen include Ayrshire, Brahman, Brown Swiss, Chianina, Devon, Dexter, Dutch Belted, and English Longhorn. She’s out in the draught house. Noun: He wrote the first draft of the party’s manifesto. It was the draft document. The architect submitted the first draft yesterday. A full draft mode is a core feature that the game will need. Draft mode is a feature found on older printers where they would lower their quality and saturation for a “test version” of a printed document to save ink/toner. Some 25 million men were subject to the draft. In the 1960s, many men burnt their draft cards. Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow was the first of 15 SEC players drafted in the opening round. He’s in the third draft. Thankfully, the heavy curtains at the windows cut out drafts. “It was observed that disc plough has a higher total and specific draught than other tillage implements, for a given soil type and tractor forward speed” (Nkakini) I wrote a draught for that yesterday. She downed the remaining beer in one draft. He took deep drafts of oxygen into his lungs. Her shallow draft enabled her to get close to shore. When Jesus tells them to try one more cast of the net, at which they are rewarded with a great draught. The draught of fish taken at Galilee was considered miraculous. There were a couple of old men playing draughts. Verb, intransitive: Reduce the energy required to maintain a certain speed by drafting in someone’s wake. Bicycle racing, motorcycle racing, car racing, and speedskating are allowed to draught. It hasn’t been conclusively proven that Thoroughbred racing horses draft each other, especially in longer races. Verb, transitive: I drafted a letter of resignation. He was drafted to help with the task force on best safety practices. He was drafted in 1938. He was drafted by Winnipeg and traded the following spring. A plan for the new garage was draughted by my nephew.	Scientists are trying to determine the cause of Europe’s recent droughts. Crops have failed because of drought. He ended a five-game hitting drought. He wallowed in a drought of good writing. I asked for something to slake my drought.
Derivatives:
Adjective: draftier, draftiest, draughty Adverb: draftily [American], draughtily Noun: drafter, draftiness [American], draftsman [American], draftsperson [American], draftswoman [American], draughtiness, draughtsman, draughtsperson, draughtswoman	Adjective: droughtier, droughtiest, droughty Noun: droughtiness
History of the Word:
Middle English, in the sense of drawing, pulling, also something drawn, a load, from the Old Norse dráttr is of Germanic origin and related to the German Tracht, also to draw. Mid-16th century: a phonetic spelling of draught.	Late Old English drūgath meaning dryness is of Germanic origin. Compare with the Dutch droogte and related to dry.

C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions by exploring the index. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, and/or the Properly Punctuated.

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Resources for Draught versus Drought

“Drafting (Aerodynamics).” Wikipedia.com. 31 Aug 2020. Web. 13 Sept 2020. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drafting_(aerodynamics)>.

Nkakini, S.O. “Draught Force Requirements of a Disc Plough at Various Tractor Forward Speeds in Loamy Sand Soil, During Ploughing.” International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology. 6, no. 7 (July 2015): 52–68, accessed 13 Sept 2020, IAEME Publication.